Tiny Home University
Learn it at home. Build it at Hammond Hill. Eight lessons online, then a week living in one of our tiny homes and building one with the Small Living Co. crew.
I build these for a living, and I run the community where people stay in them. You learn on the property where I actually do it. Nobody else can give you that part.
Built on real builds.
Since 2025, Collège La Cité students have built three towable tiny homes with Small Living Co., my company, over two summer sessions. My crew works alongside them on things like spray foam and siding.
Small Living Co. also sold the first mobile tiny home through Home Depot Canada. This isn't a classroom idea. It's a product people buy.
Eight lessons. One plan.
Each lesson adds a page to your own tiny home plan. By the time you get to Hammond Hill, you know what you're building and what it costs.
- Is a tiny home right for you?What 300 sq ft is really like, and the real costs.
- Rules, land and permitsWheels or foundation, and what to ask your town.
- Design and layoutKitchen, bath, sleeping, storage, loft or no loft.
- Trailer, foundation and framingStaying under weight. Anchoring for wind.
- Building envelopeInsulation, air sealing and moisture, where one mistake means mould.
- Water, power and off-gridSolar, water and greywater, live at Hammond Hill.
- Interiors that lastWhat cracks when a home goes down the highway.
- Budget, schedule and safetyYour materials list, your build schedule, the safety quiz.
Six days. Real build.
You work on a real Small Living Co. build, in crews of three or four, each with one of our leads. You sleep in a tiny home every night, so by Tuesday you'll know if you could live in one.
Sunday
Check in to your tiny home. Site and tool safety walk. Welcome dinner.
Monday
Layout, framing and sheathing.
Tuesday
Windows, doors, flashing, insulation. Evening tour of the off-grid systems.
Wednesday
Roofing and exterior. Rough-in walkthrough with the trades. Free night at Broken Stick.
Thursday
Interior walls, loft, stairs and built-ins.
Friday
Finish details and punch list. You present your plan. Certificates.
Electrical, plumbing and gas are shown and explained by licensed trades. You watch and ask questions; you don't do the regulated work.
- Your own tiny home plan
- A costed materials list
- A build schedule you can follow
- A week of real hours on a real build
- A private alumni group and a 30-day follow-up call
People planning to build their own tiny home. Couples and families downsizing. Groups of friends building together. Tradespeople adding tiny homes to their work.
No experience needed. Bring CSA safety boots and work clothes. Partners who aren't building are welcome: $495 + HST for the week, sharing your tiny home, with meals and the evening events. They don't take a build spot.
First build week: Spring 2027
The first build week runs on a real Small Living Co. build. Founding cohort members get first pick of dates, in exchange for honest feedback that shapes the course. Send me a note below and you're on the list. No payment until dates are set. Then $500 deposit holds your seat once dates are set. Full refund up to 30 days before the start; after that, it becomes a credit toward the next cohort.
What you can do by Friday.
Learning outcomes
By the end, you can:
- Decide if a tiny home fits your life, land and budget, with real numbers
- Explain the rules: wheels or foundation, zoning and permits, and what to ask your town
- Lay out a design that stays under weight
- Frame, sheathe and wrap a section and do finish work on a real build, safely
- Leave with your own plan and cost sheet
How it's checked: Pass the safety quiz before you arrive. During build week I sign off each task with you. Finish the week, get the certificate.
Get on the list.
Build week is Spring 2027, Sunday to Friday, 8 to 12 people. $500 holds your seat once dates are set.
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